'Gangster Squad' and 'Promised Land' debut on Blu-ray and DVD

There are several blockbusters out this week, including "Gangster Squad" with Josh Brolin, Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling, "Promised Land" with Matt Damon and "The Impossible" with Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor.

Sean Penn and Josh Brolin are on opposite sides of the law in "Gangster Squad."Warner Home Video

and language – Set in 1949 Los Angeles, the film follows Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) as he is tasked by Chief Carter (Nick Nolte) with bringing gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) to justice. Assembling a small squad of men, O’Mara and his crew begin to wage guerrilla warfare on Cohen’s criminal empire. However, the gangster eventually comes to the realization that it’s cops who are troubling him and not a rival gang. Filled with action, the film boasts a cast that includes Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Robert Patrick and Giovanni Ribisi. Extras include deleted scenes, commentaries and four featurettes.

language – Corporate salesman Steve Butler (Matt Damon) has an unblemished track record with his firm. Sent to a rural town with his sales partner, Sue (Frances McDormand), he’s hoping to get the locals to sign leases that will allow fracking for natural gas. What should be a slam-dunk gets more complicated when an environmentalist (John Karasinski) shows up and sides with a local teacher (Hal Holbrook), who also opposes the project. It’s a propaganda film of sorts but a terribly effective one. Bonus materials include extended scenes and a "making of" featurette.

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"The Impossible," Summit Entertainment, 114 minutes, Rated PG-13 for intense realistic disaster sequences, including disturbing injury images and brief nudity – Maria (Naomi Watts), her husband Henry (Ewan McGregor) and their three sons travel to Thailand for Christmas.While relaxing by the pool, they hear a strange noise that increases in volume. Suddenly they are smashed by a tidal wave. Maria and one son are carried one way while Henry and the two other boys are carried another. The film is based on a true story and it’s a powerful recounting of a family’s struggle to survive one of the greatest natural disasters in recent memory. Add-ons include commentaries, deleted scenes and two featurettes.

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"Pawn," Anchor Bay Home Entertainment, 88 minutes, Rated R for violence, language and brief drug content— A cop (Forrest Whitaker) unknowingly walks in on a robbery in progress in an all-night diner. However, you need to know what happened before his fateful entrance in order to understand the catalyst that it becomes. This one is flying under the radar and it shouldn’t. The cast includes Michael Chiklas, who is terrific as the head of the gang, Ray Liotta, Sean Faris, Common and Stephen Lang. The Blu-ray includes a behind-the-scenes featurette.

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"It’s in the Blood," Monarch Home Entertainment, 85 minutes, Not rated — Returning home in an attempt to reconcile with his father, October (Sean Eliot) finds Russell (Lance Henriksen) little changed from the bully that he fled years earlier. When they get stranded in the woods and find themselves stalked by an unknown creature, they realize that to have any chance at a future they must finally come to terms with their past. This is one scary film, so if you like the genre, check it out.

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The best of the rest:

"Assassins Run" — A beautiful Russian ballerina must fight to save her daughter who has been kidnapped;

"Haunted House" — Film spoofs all the paranormal motion pictures that have been so in vogue as of late;

"God’s Country" — A young career woman goes through a spiritual transformation as she tries to close a major land deal;

"Any Day Now" – Set in the 1970s, the film details the battles of a gay couple trying to maintain custody of an abandoned mentally handicapped teen;

"Happy People: A Year in the Taiga" – Film focuses on the indigenous people of Bakhtia, in the Siberian Taiga, whose lives have changed little in 100 years.

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This week’s Blu-ray special is the release of "Jurassic Park" in 3D ($49.98). Steven Spielberg’s film about an amusement park populated by live dinosaurs that soon goes haywire has held up remarkably well. Although there are a few weak spots in the story, the special effects are still breathtaking. In addition to the 3D disc, the set also includes a standard Blu-ray version as well as DVD version and digital and UltraViolet copies.

Also out on Blu-ray and DVD ($29.99 and $24.99) is Ken Burns’ documentary, "The Central Park Five." The film tells the story of the five black and Latino teenagers who were wrongly convicted of raping a white woman in Central Park in 1989. The film looks at the case of the Central Park Jogger from the point of view of the teens who were sent to prison, only to have a serial rapist confess to the crime years later.

Other titles that deserve a look include "Marvel Knights InHumans" ($14.99) about a race of genetic freaks, living on a secluded island, who suddenly find themselves under attack from without and within.

"Shakespeare: The King’s Man" is a two disc set from Acorn Media that examines the plays produced by the Bard after the death of Queen Elizabeth I. American scholar James Shapiro examines the dark, complex plays of Shakespeare’s last decade, including "King Lear," "Macbeth" and "The Tempest."

For nostalgia fans, the second season of "Maverick" is available on six discs for $39.98.